Syphilis Definition
sĭfə-lĭs
noun
An infectious disease caused by a spirochete (Treponema pallidum) and transmitted usually by sexual intercourse or acquired congenitally: if untreated, it can ultimately lead to the degeneration of the heart, bones, nerve tissue, etc.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Origin of Syphilis
New Latin from Syphilis, sive Morbus Gallicus “Syphilis, or the French Disease,” title of a poem by Girolamo Fracastoro (1478?–1553) from Syphilus the poem's protagonist
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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Modern Latin, originally the title of a poem by Girolamo Fracastoro concerning "Syphilus", the supposed first sufferer of the disease.
From Wiktionary
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